A New Painting of a Beast

Most of the time, when I paint in oils, I create something that looks somewhat realistic. I often have a particular finished piece in my mind as I begin. This time, I decided to simply let the creative process decide what was going to happen.  But what subject should I paint? A Beast, that's what. 

This is the Whozeewhatsit.

This is one of the more abstract Beasts that might transform into an interesting painting. 

I love the smell, texture and rich colors of oil paint!

The Beasts are rather small. They rarely are taller than 6 or 7 inches. This painting is 14" x 20", which is large for me. Because the Whoozeewhatsit is mostly white and black, I decided to use a great deal of white paint in this piece, which is also unusual for me.

Here is the beginning:

 I wanted to let the painting happen as it wanted to, and I found that it took far more time than I had thought it would. Painting is a process of endless decisions. Yet, the colors were chosen intuitively. I found myself mixing bright, vibrant colors which reminded me of the children's illustrations of the 1960's and 70's. They were so bright, geometric and boldly colorful.

Here is the finished painting.

A detail: